The Powerpuff Girls Movie
|runtime = 72 minutes |country = United States |language = English |aspect_ratio = 1:85:1 |rating = |budget = $33 million |gross = $55,426,471 |based on = The Powerpuff Girls by Craig McCracken }}The Powerpuff Girls Movie is a 2002 American animated superhero action-adventure comedy film based on the Cartoon Network animated television series of the same name. Produced by Cartoon Network Studios and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, the film was released in the United States on July 3, 2002. To date, it is the First Cartoon Network movie to have a theatrical release. Plot Professor Utonium creates a mixture of sugar, spice and everything nice in hope of producing the perfect little girl to improve Townsville, a city plagued by crime and injustice. He is shoved by his laboratory assistant, the destructive chimpanzee Jojo, causing him to accidentally break a nearby flask of a mysterious substance called Chemical X, which spills into the mixture and explodes in Jojo's face. The experiment is successful, producing three little girls whom the Professor names Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup. He discovers that the girls also have superpowers from the added Chemical X. Despite the girls' recklessness with their powers, they all immediately grow to love each other as a family. During their first day of school, the girls learn about the game tag and begin to play among themselves, which quickly grows destructive once they use their powers. The girls take their game downtown, accidentally causing massive damage to the city until the Professor calms them down. The next day, the girls are treated as outcasts by the citizens of Townville as a result of the destruction they have caused, and the Professor is captured by an angry mob for creating the girls. Realizing that using their powers again will only anger the townspeople more, the girls try to make their way home from school on foot. The girls become lost in an alleyway and are ambushed by the Gangreen Gang, only to be rescued by Jojo, whose brain has been mutated by the Chemical X explosion, giving him superintelligence. Planning control of the city, Jojo gains the girls' sympathy by saying he is also hated for his powers. Jojo convinces the girls to help him build a laboratory and Chemical X-empowered machine over a volcano in the middle of town, which he claims will gain them the affections of the city. Jojo rewards the girls with a trip to the local zoo, where he secretly implants small transportation devices on all the primates there. That night, Jojo transports the primates into his volcano lab and uses his new machine to inject them with Chemical X, turning them into evil mutant primates like himself. The next morning, after the Professor is released from prison, the girls show him all the "good" they have done, only to discover the city is being attacked by the primates. Jojo, renaming himself Mojo Jojo, publicly announces the girls as his assistants, turning everyone—including the distraught Professor—against them. Dejected, the girls exile themselves to an asteroid in outer space. Mojo Jojo announces his intentions to rule the planet, but becomes frustrated when his minions begin concocting their own plans to terrorize the people of Townsville. Overhearing the turmoil from space, the girls return to Earth and rescue the citizens, realizing they can use their powers to fight the primates. With his army defeated, Mojo injects himself with Chemical X and grows into a giant monster, overpowering the girls after an intense battle. Rejecting his offer to join him against the people who have shunned them, the girls push him off a decrepit skyscraper as the Professor arrives with a newly developed antidote for Chemical X to help the girls. Mojo lands on the antidote, which shrinks him down to his original size, battered and defeated. The girls consider using the Antidote X to erase their powers, thinking they would be accepted as ordinary girls. The people of Townsville protest, apologizing for misjudging the girls and thanking them for their heroic deeds. At the insistence of the Mayor, the girls agree to use their powers to defend Townsville with the Professor's blessing, thus becoming the city's beloved crime-fighting superhero team: the Powerpuff Girls. Voice Cast *Cathy Cavadini as Blossom, the intelligent and dutiful leader of the Powerpuff Girls *Tara Strong as Bubbles, the sweet and cheerful member of the Powerpuff Girls *E.G. Daily as Buttercup, the tough and brash member of the Powerpuff Girls *Roger L. Jackson as Mojo Jojo, a chimpanzee mutated by Chemical X who becomes the Powerpuff Girls' archenemy *Tom Kane as Professor Utonium, the Powerpuff Girls' creator and surrogate father; and the Talking Dog *Tom Kenny as the Mayor of Townsville; the Narrator; Mitch Mitchelson, the Powerpuff Girls' classmate; and Gangreen Gang members Snake and Lil' Arturo *Jennifer Hale as Ms. Keane, the Powerpuff Girls' school teacher *Jennifer Martin as Ms. Sarah Bellum, the Mayor's secretary *Jeff Bennett as Gangreen Gang members Ace, Big Billy, and Grubber *Grey DeLisle and Phil LaMarr as additional character voices *Rob Paulsen, Kevin Michael Richardson, and Frank Welker as various evil primates Production According to the Hollywood Reporter, the principal voice actresses Cathy Cavadini, Tara Strong and E.G. Daily went on strike because they felt they weren't being paid enough to do a movie. Cartoon Network threatened to replace them with more popular voice actresses for the movie as well as for the TV series, but fortunately, a deal was made and Cavadini, Strong & Daily were able to reprise their respective roles as Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup. This was Craig McCracken's first and last time that he made a movie. According to McCracken, the executives gave him the freedom of creativity and went on to make it the way he wanted to. When the new executives arrived, they saw the completed film and said they should of made it a colorful film (which was one of the reasons for "The Powerpuff Girls Movie" to flop at the box-office). Box Office "The Powerpuff Girls Movie" earned $3.5 million and was in ninth place in its opening weekend and ultimately grossed $16 million in North America against its $33 million budget. It grossed $55 million in worldwide. Critical Reception Based on 100 reviews, "The Powerpuff Girls Moive" received a 63% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes with its consensus reading, "It plays like an extended episode, but The Powerpuff Girls Movie is still lots of fun". On Metacritic, the film achieved a rating of 65 out of 100, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Bob Longino of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution praised the film, writing, "The intricate drawings emanate 1950s futuristic pizazz like a David Hockney scenescape. The inspired script is both sinfully cynical and aw-shucks sweet". He also called it "one of the few American creations that is both gleeful pop culture and exquisite high art." However, the film recieved minimal controversy for some of its violence (which many felt was too extreme for a family-oriented film especially in the wake of the then-recent 9/11 attacks). Ebert & Roeper gave it "two thumbs down," criticizing that the movie was too violent. The San Francisco Chronicle gave the film a positive review, saying it was "clearly, great fun." Mike Clark from USA Today wrote that it "isn't much, it's just lively enough to placate its limited audience to make it an easy choice over "Scooby-Doo's" stale Alpo." Film Threat Michael Dequina from Film Threat wrote that the film "may be formulaic but never fails to find other ways to entertain." Trailer Category:2002 films Category:Warner Bros. animated films Category:Children's fantasy films Category:American action comedy films Category:American animated films Category:Films based on television series Category:American drama films Category:2002 animated films Category:Films featuring anthropomorphic characters Category:Cartoon Network Studios animated films Category:Prequel films Category:American comedy-drama films Category:Superhero comedy films Category:The Powerpuff Girls Category:Warner Bros. films Category:Warner Bros. 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